CVE-2021-33732 in SINEC NMS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/12/2021
A vulnerability has been identified in SINEC NMS (All versions < V1.0 SP2 Update 1). A privileged authenticated attacker could execute arbitrary commands in the local database by sending crafted requests to the webserver of the affected application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/15/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-33732 affects SINEC NMS software versions prior to V1.0 SP2 Update 1, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity and confidentiality of industrial network management systems. This vulnerability resides within the webserver component of the SINEC NMS application, which serves as a central management interface for industrial network infrastructure. The affected system operates in environments where network management and monitoring are critical for operational technology infrastructure, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for industrial control systems and manufacturing environments.
The technical flaw manifests as a command injection vulnerability that occurs when the webserver processes crafted HTTP requests from authenticated users with privileged access levels. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization within the application's request handling mechanism, allowing an attacker who has already established authentication credentials to manipulate the application's behavior through specially crafted payloads. The vulnerability specifically targets the local database execution functionality, enabling an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary commands directly within the database environment. This represents a severe privilege escalation issue that transforms a standard authenticated user session into a high-impact attack vector capable of compromising the entire database layer.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data compromise, as it provides attackers with direct database execution capabilities that can result in complete system takeover. An attacker with privileged access could potentially extract sensitive operational data, modify database configurations, corrupt critical network management information, or even disable essential monitoring functions. The vulnerability's exploitation requires only authenticated access, which significantly reduces the attack surface compared to unauthenticated exploits, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrative credentials are maintained for routine operations. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-77 and CWE-94 within the Common Weakness Enumeration framework, specifically addressing command injection flaws and improper input validation respectively.
Organizations utilizing SINEC NMS software must implement immediate mitigation strategies to protect their industrial infrastructure from potential exploitation. The primary recommended action involves applying the vendor-provided security update V1.0 SP2 Update 1, which addresses the input validation flaws that enable this command injection vulnerability. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit administrative access to the SINEC NMS interface, implementing principle of least privilege controls to minimize potential impact. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems specifically configured to monitor for suspicious request patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under the MITRE ATT&CK framework places it within the privilege escalation and command execution categories, emphasizing the need for comprehensive monitoring and incident response procedures to detect and respond to potential exploitation attempts.